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To leave 2014 with thanksgiving and to enter 2015 with Faith and Prayer.

Entering the New Year is an important moment for all of us. It is an important moment for us to evaluate our spiritual journey and to consider the things that we have achieved so far. It is also an important moment to make a commitment about the things that we can do with God in the years to come.

Invite your family and friends wherever they are, and take a brief moment to gather together. Pray and meditate the Word of God and have a short thanksgiving service so that you and your family/closest friends can enter 2015 with Lord Jesus and His presence.

Song:

Thank You Jesus, thank You Lord

Thank You Jesus, thank You Lord

For the love You give to me

For this day You’ve made

Your amazing grace

Lord I lift my praise

Beatitudes:

Soon we will enter the New Year 2015. We are all excited and are rejoicing for the fulfilment of the promises that God has spoken to those whom He loves.

Reflection:

God never fails to fulfil His Word. He is The Almighty God and He is able to fulfil all the plans that He has for every one of us, our families and even for our children.

He is mighty to take care of all things that He has entrusted to us [2 Tim 1:12]

He is mighty to fulfil all our needs [2 Cor 9:8-9]

He is mighty to protect us from all evil [Psalms 91]

Family Prayer [try to pray for each other, if possible]:

As we leave 2014, let us be grateful for all that God has done.

And as we enter the New Year, let us ask for God’s guidance.

And be ready to experience the multiplication of His miracles.

Word of blessing [by the father/mother]:

We are all ready to enter the year of the multiplication of miracles, oh Lord.

Thank You, Lord, for giving us the favour to enjoy Your grace and power.

For the upcoming year there will be:

The miracle of salvation [Amen!]

The miracle of restoration of health [Amen!]

The miracle of multiplication of blessings at home and in the workplace [Amen!]

By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves]. (John 13:35 AMP)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (John 13:34 NASB)

This I command you, that you love one another. (John 15:17 NASB)

We must encourage and stir each other

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NASB)

We need to sow a seed to bless others

We need to be in the love of God before we can love others

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. (John 15:9 NASB)

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, (Ephesians 3:17 NASB)

“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,…” (Ephesians 5:18) There is a recent ‘trend’ among Indonesians, to drink wine. However, let us not get drunk with wine. Paul spoke to Timothy about drinking wine, but it was for health reasons and not to get drunk. As witnesses of Jesus, we need to guard ourselves. If we say, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked,” (1 John 2:6) this means we need to first be filled with the Holy Spirit and do the Word of God. Amen! Let us reflect on ourselves. Signs of those who are not filled with the Holy Spirit are laziness:

In prayer

Reading the Bible

Build intimacy with God

Expressing our love for God, etc.

If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will be excited about being with God.

5. Speaks Positively Towards Others

“Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:19) If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns of praise and spiritual songs; and not foul language. Instead, it is the language that is found in Psalms, hymns of praise and spiritual songs to respect one another. This is important!

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37)

“But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:22)

“Raca” roughly translated is “Idiot! Where is your brain?” or “Stupid!” Once again I remind you to be watchful towards the language we use these days. In Jakarta, people often say, “You’re crazy…” This is perceived as informal language or slang that makes some say, “If I am not using such language, I am not ‘cool’.” In actuality, such language is similar to foul language which is considered informal. At times, due to the habit of saying, “You are crazy…” while being angry with someone, and we say, “You are really crazy!” This is worse than the previous word, ‘Idiot’. If someone says such things, what are we to do? This person is in danger of hell fire! Be careful!

God spoke strongly about this to me. Thus far, we have always talked about visions that I have received and have never touched topics like this. In fact, such matters carry a bigger risk. We need to account for each word spoken in vain on the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. If anyone of you says to his brother or sister, “Raca”, which means, “Idiot! Stupid! Where is your brain?!” he needs to be thrown into burning hell. I was once like that too, using casual slang. I thought if I did otherwise, I would be perceived to be less social. However, it is better to be less social than to be in hell! Young people and probably the elders too, do not get used to such language. I have delivered this message and hope you do not have the habit of using such language. As I always pray for you, “God, let everyone enter heaven and no one is thrown into burning hell!” Amen! If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will wholeheartedly rejoice and sing to God. At times, there are people who hold back. Even so, when someone shouts, “Hallelujah!”, he will then ask, “What is that? Is it a kind of style or what?” NO! It is because we are filled with the Holy Spirit! I am not sure if someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, he will not rejoice and sing with all his heart, regardless of the style he has but it can be seen. Indeed so it is not about the ‘style’ that matters but it is about whether or not he is filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will rejoice and sing to God with all our heart.

6. Constantly Giving Thanks For All Things

“Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20) “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1
Thessalonians 5:18) Everyone can give thanks at good times. However, we need to give thanks at

all times, good or bad. When you give thanks in bad times, peace and joy will come. It is not because we receive something but because God gives heavenly joy and peace. This is marvelous! “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) Maybe there are some of you who are anxious. You have prayed and asked God but have yet to see the answer. Has your prayer to God been accompanied with thanksgiving? Normally, people just pray, “God, help me… help me… help!” while forgetting to say, “Lord, thank you. I am thankful for You, Lord.” I believe you will see what is written in Psalms 37:3-4 happening in your life:

Trust in the Lord,

Do good,

Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness,

Delight yourself in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

I remember ‘giving thanks’ was a form of personal experience that represented a turning point in life. When God called me to be servant of God, it was through an unpleasant situation. I needed to file for bankruptcy, and as the Javanese would say, “Ludes… des..”. The first ‘des’ implies everything is gone. The second ‘des’ refers to additional debt. Imagine this, not only is everything gone, there is also an outstanding debt. How would the debt be settled then? The debt is now all cleared because it has been paid. At that time, I could not take it because in addition to being bankrupt, I was not a priest too. The situation caused me great distress. At its peak, God spoke to me, “Niko, precisely at times like this, you need to give thanks!” That was when, while crying, I picked up the guitar and composed a song, “All our praise and glory only unto You, O Lord. You alone are worthy to be praised. We have come together to magnify Your Name. Hallelujah!” Initially, the song was sung slowly and with tears. This song has now become a song of joy, upbeat and joyful.

I have just returned from Japan. Japan experienced a revival that has never taken place before. The numbers of God’s ministers who were present and churches attending were beyond what was recorded in Japan’s history. God’s ministers from Okinawa to Sapporo, they all came! There were approximately 5,100 people present! According to history, the largest number was 3,500 people, implying that this recent event has never happened before. There was a senior minister by the name of Okuyama who at the age 81 years is remarkably healthy. He can speak Indonesian. He was with Ps Petrus Oktvianus because they worked together. He told me, “Ps Niko, your song is such a blessing for Japan. Every Christian knows the song!” Each time I go to Japan, I will sing the song because they request it. A few years ago, they thought the composer of the song was from China because they took the song from Taiwan and had it translated. However, when they knew that I was the composer, they took me as ‘father’. This is remarkable! The last time I was in Japan, I closed the event by declaring together, “Revival in Japan has begun! Revival in Japan has begun!” Then came a thunderous roar! On the way back, I heard on the street that a storm was coming towards Japan. Shaking took place! Each time I am at a place that is experiencing a revival, shaking will suddenly take place. However, amid such shaking, many will repent. Amen!

7. Submit To One Another

Ephesians 5:21: “Submitting to one another in the fear of God.” As witnesses of Jesus, we need to submit ourselves to one another when we are together. However, it does not happen in this world. When they gather, each tries to make himself better than the others. As witnesses of Jesus, we need to humble ourselves when we gather. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). There are also a few other verses on this matter:

Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility. (Proverbs 18:12)

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. (Proverbs 8:13)

I pray in accordance to the promise of God I have received that you will be extra blessed today! I know that God has done that. Because of that, I want to appreciate you. God has also said, “Appreciate them. They came to this place with difficulty!” On 2 November, I went to Sentul with difficulty too. At times like that, I was asked to give thanks. Indeed, the test in thanksgiving is in circumstances such as that. However, I know that you have overcome and will be given extraordinary blessings today. Amen!

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Paslm 32:8

Shalom, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. We are entering the year of Ayin Dalet (5774) where the eyes of the Lord are constantly upon us in accordance to Psalm 32:8. He wants to teach us, show us the way we should go and give us advice. God gave me one word, “Witness!”, meaning we are to be witnesses of Jesus. While waiting for the first Pentecost to come, the disciples became witnesses of Jesus. Likewise, you and I need to do the same while waiting for the Third Pentecost. God gave me a message, “Be MY witnesses!” Let us read Ephesians 5:15-2: Living as Children of Light.

1. Pay Attention to How We Lead Our Lives

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise…” Ephesians 5:15. How we live these days will determine whether we will go to heaven or hell! I pray that all of us live wisely because wise people will go to heaven. Amen! Moses, in Psalms 90:12, prayed, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Let this be our prayer these days, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Amen!

2. Be Aware that The Days are Evil

“…Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16) You should know that these days are evil. Lately, God reminded me of man’s condition in these last days. Let us read 2 Timothy 3:1-5 while reflecting on our own individual state: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

While reading the verses above, we need to reflect on our own individual state. These days are evil. Know that in these last days, perilous times shall come. Do you feel that these days are perilous? True! Man is indeed responsible for all of these events because men love themselves and have become slaves of money. This is the root. I am even more saddened as I read the next verse that states, “disobedient to parents, unthankful…” Brothers and sisters, be careful! Maybe your parents are still alive. Young people, take note. Jesus said, “For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.” Matthew 15:4.

“Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mothers with contempt.” Deuteronomy 27:6

Jesus condemned the Pharisees, “And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. You hypocrites!” (Matthew 15:6-7)

In those days, they had a tradition based on custom. A person was permitted to speak to his parents, “I have unfortunately used the money which is meant to take care of you as offerings to God!” while God’s Law has stated, “Honour your father and your mother”. However, for the sake of their custom, it was as if they were taught to place God as number 1 and family as number 2. This was a wrong application. Jesus said, “You hypocrites!” Thus, if someone in the church says, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I love Jesus with all my heart, my soul and my entire mind… Hallelujah, but not honouring parents, it is hypocrisy!” Be careful! Brothers and sisters who have children, let them be aware of this! I have seen such things happening as a fulfillment of God’s Word, which states that in these last days, perilous times will come and man’s condition is described as such. Hopefully all the young people honour their father and mother so they will
lead long lives. Amen!

3. Understand The Will of God

“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17) I recall last September during the International Executive Council meeting of the Church of God (made up of 23 people),

God suddenly told me to talk about Ephesians 5:17. At that time, Tommy Smith was my translator. I just said, “I was asked by God to read this verse, Ephesians 5:17, which says, “do not be unwise,…” Tommy Smith translated directly (from Indonesian) without looking at the Bible, saying “Do not be stupid!” All the leaders who were present instantly looked at us, stunned. Realizing that he might have translated it wrongly, Tommy Smith, in his confusion, took the Bible and opened it. It was written as ‘unwise’; not stupid. However, we all understood why before the leaders, the word was ‘stupid’. It is because these days, there are many leaders who lack understanding of the will of God. Later, I spoke out as God anointed me to speak. Towards you, it is referred to as ‘unwise’ but towards the leaders, it is referred to as ‘stupid’. We have to understand the will of God in these last days.

Last month, we talked about DALET (74) from Ayin Dalet. Two meanings of DALET are:
Being poor or humble before God

“Doors”

The key to understanding the will of God is to come humbly before God. If you are not being humble before God then God will not tell you His specific plans for you. If you understand the will of God, doors that have been closed until now will be open in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen! You may think that I feel capable to lead such a large congregation of ± 250,000 members. No! To this day, I always come before God trembling. Like Moses, I always say: “God, if you do not guide me, please do not make us go, God. If You do not give me any visions on what I should do and say to lead such a huge congregation of Yours, I am not up to it. Do not make me go.” In delivering this message today, I continue to tremble before God. This is not unusual as I am used to it. You need to continue to be in this state. Before God, you need to feel poor and incapable. “God, without You, I can do nothing!” Do not rely on your own strength or others because cursed are those who do so.

Brothers and sisters, while waiting for the Third Pentecost, I pray that you will understand what God desires. Five phenomena mark the Third Pentecost, namely:

The Holy Spirit will be poured out in an extraordinary way. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea.

God will use three generations in extraordinary ways

Great shaking will occur. Let us pray for Indonesia so that there will be peace during the Presidential and Legislative elections. “Visions of ‘fire’, which engulf the city of Jakarta and other cities, I reject! I break them in the Name of Jesus!” Let us join hands in prayer. I believe God will hear our prayers because we pray in unity.

Massive harvest of souls

Jesus will come again

Incredible Prophecy

In 2006, Chuck Pierce prophesied about me, together with the other prophets, and received revelation that was referred to as “Incredible Prophecy.” God showed them things that would take place in the next three years:

“Kingdoms on earth shall become MY kingdom,” said the Lord.

Doors that have been closed before you would be open, if you were willing to take the steps for the doors to be open. (They would not open by themselves but through our understanding about the will of God.) If we take the steps now, there will be great profit in the next three years. Amen!

In the next three years, kingdoms will come against kingdom. Kingdoms of this world will enter into battle. Only God’s Kingdom will remain unshaken.

Harvest of souls will take place

Evil spirits controlling illegal trades will be destroyed

God’s army will appear to attack kingdoms on earth. They will bring out with them what is needed and bring them into God’s Kingdom

Shaking will take place from north to west and these will leaders to bow their knee. Even leaders of evil character will show us “favour”. The United States will be shaken. Hidden forces that have been controlling the country will be shaken and destroyed.

Greater authority will be given to us to drive out evil spirits. These days, I have been experiencing tremendous spiritual war which I have never experienced before. Nonetheless, at the same time, I see a huge harvest of souls taking place.

There will be spiritual hunger for the Word of God!

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise…” Ephesians 5:15.(To be continued)

To be concerned or interested: Once inside, we didn’t care whether it rained or not.

To provide needed assistance or watchful supervision: cared for the wounded; caring for an aged relative at home.

Synonyms: care, charge, custody, keeping, supervision, trust

These nouns refer to the function of watching, guarding, or overseeing: left the house keys in my care; has charge of all rare books in the library; had custody of his children; left the canary in the neighbors’ keeping; assumed supervision of the students; documents committed to the bank’s trust.

In these definitions care mean to be concerned or interested to give assistant or supervision. Also being in charge of something to oversee, watch and guard.

Introduction:God the Father was very much concerned for the salvation of mankind. God does not want anyone to perish but to come to repentance and God made a big decision to send and sacrifice His one and only Son Jesus Christ to redeem us all from eternal fire of hell. The BIG reason of God is because He CARES and loves us so much.

And after we received His Spirit and His gift of salvation we too have the role and responsibilities as well as His children in the Kingdom of God to Care and oversee what God had entrusted to us as His children and disciples.

Text: Luke 4:18-19

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

1. To Care means to proclaim the good news to the poor. Who are the poor?

Those that was poor in spirit, to the meek and humble, and to those that were truly sorrowful for sin. (Matthew Henry commentary).

The poor are those who has not received the greatest treasure that men could ever received in their life nothing else than their salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Your friend maybe rich financially and materially but they lack this gift of God; they don’t have Christ yet in their life. Everything they have will perish but only one thing will remain and that is the gift of salvation they received from Christ through the good news that you proclaim in them when they received it wholeheartedly. They will no longer be poor in the spirit but now they are rich as the verses in hymnal said “Let the weak said I am strong and the poor said I am rich because of what the Lord has done for us give thanks.”

2. To Care means to proclaimed freedom for the prisoners.

Jesus cares for the world the poor in the spirit, the sick physically and spiritually and right after his baptism in the Jordan He go out to proclaim the kingdom of God to the people, he healed the sick and delivered those who are demon possessed.

Jesus had entrusted that tasks to us His children and disciple to care for the lost and those in prisoned with the help of His Holy Spirit living in us. His Holy Spirit in us will help up to care and reach out for the people around us to share His love to them.

Many people around us our friends, colleagues, people we met and even our own family are those people who may not be imprisoned physically but they are emotionally, mentally and spiritually imprisoned because of many reasons and caused and because of that these people could not really see clearly and they are blind in most of their actions and decisions. One problem after another and they could not come out from their prison jail.

They need help they need your care and the Lord sent you to care for them to proclaim freedom to them.

Many people out there are in prisoned in some way or another, in their problems, struggles and many other things that only God could see and God need us His disciple to help these people out. You may ask how? The answer is already given to us in Luke 4:18-19.

The following are some suggestions and help as our guidance:

Prayer is the first step – as we bring them to the throne grace of God in prayer and intercession there will be something that is happening in the spiritual realm that only God could do. That is the touch and ministry of the Holy Spirit in their life that would supernaturally help them come out from imprisonment. The spiritual battle takes place in the heavenly realm as we pray and intercede for them as you proclaim your faith in the spiritual realm the angelic host of God will start to fight for them and help them overcome and released them from prison spiritually.

Act of Kindness – Love and care is an action word from us not just merely saying words of encouragement but love and care that are shown through our presence in their most needed time that will help them feel they are love and being cared of in the true meaning of it.

An act of kindness likes a call over the phone, visitation or meeting up for chat, lunch or dinner and listening to their hearts will ease a burdened hearts. Through this you will know what the person is going through and the Holy Spirit in you will help you to reach out to their heartfelt need and lead them out from where they are. You may not able to answer all their questions but our presence and warm heart in listening and being sensitive to their needs will do great wonders in their hearts.

Another act of kindness is remembering the significant events of their life .One example is by sending a card or a note a year after something significant has happened in their life. People will realize that you care if you are still thinking about their life event a year or two after it occurs. This can be remembered by simply putting it on your calendar a year in advance. This event was significant to them and it should be significant to us as well.

Spiritual Guidance – As we care and touch their physical or emotional needs the Spirit of God will able to open a door in their heart to reach in their deeper needs and that is their need of God in their life. Their need to be restored to their master and maker and the need to acknowledge Him that Jesus Christ is the answer to all their longing and struggles in life. They can find true peace and joy in Christ Jesus their Lord and Savior. The Lord will use and enable you to be their spiritual mentor and guidance with the help of the Holy Spirit in your life.

So Why do We Need To Care?

Care is the heartbeat of the Father and therefore the same heartbeat that He wants to see in our heart as His children and God had given us His ability through His Spirit in us that anoint us to do His will for the world that need our cares and love. Our Lord Jesus while here on earth spent His time caring for the poor, sick, demon posses and He cares for every one even the little children Jesus.

Jesus Christ did not left earth and return to the Father and sit at His right hand without giving us great Helper the Holy Spirit to oversee what He had been started on earth and we as His children and disciple will finish the task that He started and through us He will complete it through His Holy Spirit who anointed us and empower us to complete His purpose of His Kingdom to be expanded throughout all the earth.

Therefore let’s go out, show our actions and do care for the people out there that we may bring 1 More Persons for Jesus! Amen.

“..Let the weak said I am strong and the poor said I am rich because of what the Lord has done for us give thanks.”

When I was working in a bank, there was a “care” programme with the purpose of showing more care to the clients by giving them our best service. Besides to retain old clients, the programme is also meant to attract new clients.

I think it can be applied to the lives of God’s children. If we show care to others, we will be able to keep our friends, as well as add new friends. We cannot be a hypocrite if we want to care for others because it has to come from our heart. The care doesn’t come from the outside, but from the inside. The thing that motivates us to “care” for others is compassion. If we don’t have compassion, our heart will not be touched when we see somebody who is in need of help, or those feeling sad, struggling, in pain, abused, and even those who are lost, yet to be saved.

There is a term called EGP (I don’t care). Individualism has replaced “care” for each other, to pay attention and help each other. Each individual has put himself and his family above all things, even God. What important for them is that “I am doing well financially and I’m happy with myself.” On the other hand, if we call ourselves as followers of Christ, we must understand that our lives are not for ourselves: we are blessed to be a blessing for others.

Do you know that having compassion does not make us a weak person? Instead, it describes the strength of one’s character.

In Mat 9:13, Jesus said: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus said this because the Pharisees did not like it when Jesus said to a lame man that his sins have been forgiven. The same thing happened when the Pharisees saw Jesus sat with the sinners. Jesus did all of this because He has compassion for those souls, whereas it is the other way around for the Pharisees.

We can care for others by doing things, such as doing social service to the community, helping those in need, praying for them, etc, but if it is not based on compassion, it does not mean anything, there is no eternity value. If we see Jesus’ ministries, they are all based on compassion, for example when He saw many people homeless like sheep without a shepherd (Mat 9:36), when He saw many people and healed them and gave them food (Mat 14:14), and when He saw a mother crying for her lost child (Mat 7:13).

How to have compassion?

We need to open our hearts and start learning to care for others.

We need to ask God to give us the spirit of compassion

Start practicing.

If we care for others, then our lives will be different. We will be happier because we can be the channel of blessings to others. One’s success is not based on how rich we are, how famous we are, or how high our career is. It is based on how much we have given/done to others, in terms of attention, money, time and prayer. If we are sensitive, we would see that there are lots of people around us who need our help and attention. So, in this “caring” month, let’s express our love to God by paying attention and caring for other people.

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:13

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, make me a vessel for your Glory. If there is anything in me that needs healing, heal me so that I can be a vessel, ready to be used by You. Forgive me, if all this time I only think about myself. I want to open my heart now. Pour out Your spirit of compassion to me, Lord.. Thank you Lord Jesus.

Ever since the World Prayer Assembly was held in Indonesia (SICC) in 2012, the message from God which we received has been that we should always pray that Habakkuk 2:14 becomes a reality: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” In accordance to principles in the Bible, we know that there are things that are God’s part and there are also things that are our part. The latter refers to the things we need to do in order to realize the above vision: for us to have knowledge about the glory of God. Knowing about the glory of God means to have a personal encounter with His presence, as well as to have right and healthy knowledge of His truth. We need to learn, explore deeper and have knowledge of God’s truth. Why?

1. HELPS US TO KNOW MORE ABOUT GOD

Proverbs 2:3-6: “Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

As children of God, we ought to know GOD whom we worship in the name of JESUS CHRIST. To become a Christian in this world without any knowledge of who JESUS CHRIST is, is like someone who drives a car with its pitch-black-tinted glass windows being fully drawn up. This is very dangerous. Without having knowledge about the truth (i.e. Word of God), we will never be able to live our lives well in accordance to His plan. Likewise, we will not be able to have a good relationship with Him because we will try to understand Him through our own interpretation. We gain the knowledge and glory of God not only through a personal encounter but through a true understanding of His truth.

2. TO HAVE AN IMPORTANT FOUNDATION

Hebrews 6:1-2: “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

The above verses should be understood correctly. The above verses do not say that foundations are not important, but rather it is the opposite: it is very important. The first few principles about CHRIST, as expressed above, serve as a very important basis for us to understand because it serves as a stepping-stone for us to attain greater spiritual development and growth. Many children of GOD are not able to “rise to the next level” in their spiritual lives because they are still struggling and do not have the true knowledge on the basic principles of Christianity. Why? They try to understand by relying on their own thoughts and strengths. This is why our church encourages everyone to attend KOM classes to gain correct knowledge of the truth, right foundation, and thus, enable them to develop spiritually. How are these being developed? Through the application of the knowledge of the truth, mentorship and ministry in COOL groups. This will help us go up to the next level.

3. GIVING US THE ABILITY TO SERVE OTHERS

Titus 1:9: “Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be
able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”

Amid the many problems that are happening in this world and with so many people requiring help, consolation and strength, we who know GOD and have His truth are called to serve people who are in need. Many are able to help and give advice, but only the Word/Truth of God brings liberty. When we serve others let us do so by the light of the Truth. Words of advice, consolation and strength that flow out of our mouths should be in accordance to the truth of God’s Word. Without having the foundation and truth of God, whatever we say are just ordinary words without any power. Man can say beautiful and kind words but only words that are based on the truth of God will bring full restoration. God’s power is in His Word.

4. PREVENTS US FROM DOING WRONG THINGS

Colossians 2:7-8: “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Challenges faced by children of GOD today are heretical teachings and understandings of the world which may appear to be fine but in actuality, are not based on what JESUS has taught. If we have knowledge of the Truth (Word of GOD), it will protect us from doing wrong. We will become more aware and sensitive to the things that do not come from GOD. An example of this comes from an officer who was in charge of identifying counterfeit money in the U.S Treasury. Officers are trained to be able to immediately identify the difference between real money and fake. They have to study in detail the real money for at least eight hours a day for one year. Upon completion of the exercise, these officers are able to quickly differentiate between the real and fake money. Likewise for us: the more we know GOD and learn about His truth, we will be protected from doing wrong and believing in false teachings. Knowledge of the truth of GOD will determine what we do in our lives, because what we think and are convinced of determines our actions.

5. CARRY OUT GOD’S COMMANDS

2 Timothy 2:15: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”

To learn and have the knowledge about the truth is the commandment of GOD. Why? This is to enable us to be right before Him, to become children of GOD who live in the light of the truth, and are ready to share the truth to anyone anywhere. This is the duty of all children of GOD, not just a group of workers/servants of the church.

AFFIRMATION
Reflect again on Habakkuk 2:14: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

This is the prayer/vision that the glory of GOD will fill the whole earth and also for people to have the true knowledge of GOD and as a result, have an encounter with His Glory. We need to learn, explore deeper and have knowledge of the truth because it will bring us to the knowledge of the full glory of GOD. (CS)